Trouble Expresses Himself

"Put me in coach, I'm ready to play!"

Trouble will be convalescing for the next eight weeks due to a broken toe--he's taking it really well. (In reference to the expression, "Put me in coach, I'm ready to play", Drew found this great baseball retrospective on Youtube featuring John Fogerty's song, "Centerfield." My father would have enjoyed seeing it as he was a big baseball fan and former coach. Ahh... the good times we had watching the Mets at Shea Stadium in the 60's!)

Lady Flame's Zoomies

A dizzying display of dazzling speed.

Classic Bed Fail

How in the world did Toby end up on the floor? It looks like he must have slowly slid off his bed as he laid on a light blanket. Classic!

Dignified?

Dignified? Never!

Blue (aka Royal Blue Jay) - May you run fast and howl with gusto in doggy heaven!

My last photo of Blue on Dec. 20, 2015
This is the last biscuit he'll ever take gently
from my hand with his cross-eyed look...

Blue, aka Royal Blue Jay, died on Jan. 16th, at just over 12 years old. He was, beyond a doubt, the most gentle of greyhounds and we were madly in love with him... In fact, everyone who ever met Blue fell instantly in love. 

Our friends all loved Blue. Even my sister and nephew
were lucky enough to meet him a few years ago.
(Click on the photo set for a larger view.)

We were but two of his many royal fans. 

His death has hit us all hard. 

Here is our abbreviated history with Blue:

I think Veronica took this photo from our first Greyhound Meet and Greet
in Brunswick. This is where we first met, and fell in love with Blue
(and Queena Bettina, as I fondly call her) on May 26, 2012.

Trouble made us fall in love with Greyhounds, but meeting Blue cinched the deal of us eventually adopting greyhounds of our own. When we met Blue, it was love at first sight. We had only seen four other greyhounds in our lives, and at this Meet and Greet there were twelve! Here is what I said after the Meet and Greet:

Our favorite two dogs were Blue and Bettina, owned by a woman who also lives in our town. She brought her mother’s dog, Crandall, to the meet and greet as well. Crandall is a brindle greyhound, while Blue is a gorgeous white greyhound with grey ears. Bettina is a sweet, petite, black greyhound.

Veronica took it upon herself to give us her phone number if we had more questions about Greyhounds. We didn't want to pester her, but we were thankful for her kindness, which blossomed into a friendship that has lasted for the past 3.5 years. 

July 29, 2012: The first time Veronica brought Blue and Bettina to our yard
to socialize with the newly adopted Lady Flame! Blue was 8.5 years old.

Drew and I were just talking about the fact that it seems like we've known Veronica, Blue, and Bettina for way longer than this. It is one of those friendships that is comfortable, and they quickly became members of our extended family.

Here is our first play date at Veronica's house, in July of 2012. We've had these play dates periodically, during Veronica's lunch hour on Wednesdays, over the past several years. They are short visits, but always fun. This was the first time that we had gotten to see Lady Flame run, since we had adopted her, because our fence wasn't built around our yard yet. You can see Drew and Blue playing together as well. 

4 year old Toby chases almost 12 year old Blue! Fun, Fun, Fun!

Blue remained playful up until his death. He could still kick up his heels at 11.83 years old...This photo was taken at one of our play dates in October, 2015.

Blue on Popham Beach. His one foot supports both he and Drew!

Here is my favorite photo of Drew and Blue. It was a cold winter's day, in March of 2013, at Popham Beach, and Blue really kicked it into high gear! 

And, here is Blue in all his royal glory. We love you, Big Blue!

Run, Blue run...

Oct. 11, 2015 Play date: Those Big Blue ears...

One of Blue's greatest attributes were his ears! We love seeing those perky ears in almost every photo we ever took of him.

Four cute butts of four best buddies!

Even his boney butt was cute!

Blue was magnificent! We miss him with all our hearts, and we'll treasure every memory. He was one of a kind...

Veronica and her beloved hounds at our Hound-o-Ween party! Oct. 2015

Veronica wrote a beautiful tribute to her "Big Poppy". I know that it had to be one of the toughest things she has ever done, but she is a gifted writer and a hard core lover of her hounds.

Lastly, another royal fan of Blue's, Bille Axell, created a lovely tribute video of Blue. Bille, you rock!

Snowy Day and Toby's eyesight

On snowy days like this, we really see that Toby's eyesight is less than spectacular. Drew has snow plowed a path around the perimeter of the back yard, and down the middle. Toby finds one path and only runs back and forth down it. He cannot chase after Lady Flame because he has no idea where the path ends and the deep snow begins. Kinda sad that our young buck cannot play with the joie de vivre of other pups his age.

Walking on a snowmobile trail

Drew took the pups for a walk on the Starbird Corner snowmobile trail this afternoon.

It was rough going, even though snowmobiles had gone through. They ended up walking single-file in an effort to find the most highly packed snow.

Even so, each step went down into the powder making for a very rough and exhausting trek. This is the type of walk that my wobbly knees cannot handle. So, Drew and the pups get to have this kind of "fun" all by themselves!

Snowy Day Play Date

Click on any photo for a larger view.

Every play date begins with Trouble. Without Trouble in the mix, the pups would just mill around.

But, Trouble gets everybody jazzed up. And the girls start to romp...

And, the girls start to rumble!

Then, Trouble invariably injures himself, and it is up to the girls to carry on.

And, on...

And, on...

Until it is rest time.

Then, Trouble is leashed and Toby joins the mix.

But, nobody likes Toby, and he gets the big snub.

So, he trots on back to the house, to go inside and vent his frustration by getting into wee bits of trouble.

And, Lady wonders why we can't play some more!

Papermill Trail Pups

Lady Flame & Toby by the Sabattus River

After a full day of rain yesterday, the dogs were chomping at the bit to get outside. An hour-long walk on the Paper Mill Trail, followed by a run around the yard helped take the edge off their excess energy.

Play Date with the Half-Sibs

Click on the photo set for a larger view.
Muzzles are necessary to keep the hounds safe due
to rambunctious play.

Our pups have been so antsy of late. Luckily, today worked out perfectly for a short afternoon play date. The pups were their usual rowdy selves, and played with gusto. They are so noisy, and I was worried that they would disturb the birders, in our front yard, who were looking for the Yellow-throated warbler, but all was well. The birders left happy and our pups got to play all at the same time.

Happy New Year!...Same old, same old...

Bored, bored, bored...what to do...

Just laying around, waiting for something exciting
to happen...